God didn’t just want half of me. He was getting my attention and saying, “If you want to live for me it’s got to be all or nothing – no in between.” – Anthony Muhs.

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This past summer, I went to a Lifeteen camp. One of our speakers was Anthony Muhs – he said many eye opening things, but this one really… well, blew my mind. It was as if he was talking about me. I was in that in between, and am still kind of there – granted, I’m working on it now. But it wasn’t until I heard Anthony put what I was feeling into words that I actually tried to make this change. I found myself constantly claiming to be a person of faith, and I did (do) believe, but I was messing up – constantly, and on purpose.

I learned that there’s a difference between saying you’re a good and faithful person and actually trying to be a good and faithful person.

It is so easy to fall into temptation, it’s in our human nature. God granted us free will, so, naturally, we find ourselves in the face of temptation. It’s how we handle this that makes us who we are. Until recently, I so easily, without a second thought – until after this eye opening moment – would give in to temptation. I find myself actually considering my options, weighing the pros and cons, before falling into temptation now. So I am working on the “in between-ness” in my life. And that’s the point I am trying to get across. In order to get out of that in between state, all you have to do is honestly give it your best effort – and know that when you do fall into temptation’s path you are forgiven.

This year’s theme was ‘Inspire[d]’ – we go to camp to get inspired, and we leave camp to inspire. I hope that someday my story will inspire someone the way Anthony’s inspired me.

God As Our Compass

Lady Antebellum may not have meant to portray this meaning to their song Compass, but the first time I heard it I thought of God as our compass.

The chorus alone mentions going through a hard time and wanting to give up, but instead of giving up you should let your heart be your compass when you’re lost. A huge part of your heart guiding you through those rough patches, is God leading you. Last year, I went to a camp with my school, and one of the themes was that God is our compass.

Compasses always point to North, and Heaven is portrayed as being ‘up.’ If we think of North as being the place that will shed light on us when we’re lost, it will become true for a real compass and for the compass that is God. We all have moments where we would like to give up because it’s dark, but letting out hearts, or God, be our compass can and will get us out of those situations.

At the end of their chorus, they say, “No matter what you’ll never be alone.” This kind of speaks for itself. God is always with us, even though sometimes it feels as though things have become too much to handle and He has forgotten us, He is always there. So no matter how hard a situation may seem, you’ll never be alone in your struggles because God is always there for you.

I don’t know if this song portrayed the same message to you upon first hearing it, but this is the message I got out of Lady A’s song Compass.